Madrid Open WTA Day Seven Round-Up | Anastasia Potapova stuns Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff also big name casualty

The fourth round of the WTA Madrid Open was played in full with 16 players currently still standing in this latest WTA 1000 tournament of 2026 at the start of Monday.

Some tantalising ties were in prospect, most notably current world number one Aryna Sabalenka taking on former world number one Naomi Osaka. Adding to that, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic were also in action.

But it was a day of shocks at times including in particular right at the end with Tallon Griekspoor even putting on his glasses while watching girlfriend Anastasia Potapova in what people joked on social media was a couldn't believe his eyes moment.

The now Austrian tennis star found herself victorious over Elena Rybakina in the last game of the day who has only lost five games all year and now has lost six including to Potapova who rallied after going 5-3 down in the opening stanza of the match to sel a 10-8 tie-break.

Then in the final set she lost serve at 3-2 and Rybakina went 4-2 up but in the end, Potapova rallied at the right time stealing the serve back after being 40-30 down at that point and she held for 5-4. This before she managed to take the win by breaking again with Rybakina if she held likely forcing her to hold again or take it to a tie-break.

But this wasn't needed as in a bit of a head scratcher for Rybakina, she was unceremoniously dumped out of the Madrid Open by Potapova.

Also making a great escape was Linda Noskova. She saw off Coco Gauff who was sick in her last game against Sorana Cirstea falling victim to the Shrimp Taco virus and was throwing up on court.

But it was Noskova this time who applied seriously pressure and it tolled as after winning her first set in five against Gauff, she lost 10 out of 12 games to lose the second set and then stare down a double break in the third.

But she managed to come back and in forcing a tie-break, she ended up winning seven out of the last nine points to take her first top 10 victory of the season. She now faces Marta Kostyuk on Wednesday. The Ukrainian ended the run of Caty McNally who has been so good this week but Kostyuk, the winner in Rouen even had the American joking that she doesn't want to play her again when they were at the net after an emphatic 6-2, 6-3 win.

Also through was Aryna Sabalenka. She came from a set down to continue her title defence earlier in the day. She won through 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 in a popcorn clash with Naomi Osaka won by the current World No.1 who joked afterwards that the Brazilian fans who are behind her due to her fiance being from the nation perhaps got under Osaka's skin.

Osaka continues to show good signs but can't string it together against the big names yet it seems. While Mirra Andreeva also moved through. Albeit she did have a meltdown as she saw off Anna Bondar. She lost the first 7-6 and then shouted at her team that she was going to lose and she wasn't a champion.

She then cried when she won the match showing vulnerable emotion but also perhaps chinks in her armour so to speak still. She won through 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Other wins came for Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 over Solana Sierra. While Leylah Fernandez and Hailey Baptiste also continued great weeks seeing off Ann Li 6-3, 6-2 and for Baptiste, a big win over Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-7, 3-6.